Two contrasting, conflicting festivals came in the wake of December 25

Two dramatically different feasts found their way into this date, December 28, on the historic Roman Catholic liturgical calendar: the Feast of Holy Innocents and the Feast of Fools. Church leaders have high regard for the first, but they generally choose to look the other way when the second is mentioned.

Holy Innocents memorializes the baby boys King Herod killed in his effort to destroy the King of the Jews, whom the Wise Men sought out. The narrative in Matthew 2 gives no details as to how this slaughter was to be carried out or the number of babies involved. Medieval authors projected 144,000 deaths. Others lowered the number to 64,000 or 14,000. Because Bethlehem was a small town, modern writers have drastically reduced the estimate to 20 or 10 or even 6. Whatever the number in this incident, ancient and religious writers describe Herod as a ruler who committed many atrocities.

Augustine called these innocent boys the first buds of the Church, killed by the frost of persecution.Their day is placed near Christmas Day because they are perceived as giving their life for the newborn King. This is one of many days throughout the liturgical year honoring saints and martyrs.

The on-line Catholic Encyclopedia describes the Feast of Fools as “marked by much license and buffoonery . . . during the later middle ages” in England, France, and other European countries (http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/06132a.htm). A carry-over from pagan revels, it found sanctification for a time in the Catholic church, with lower-level church leaders replacing the bishops and priests for a day. Sometimes a “boy bishop” wore the bishop’s garb and sat in the bishop’s chair during services. The event is said to have tottered “on the brink of burlesque, if not of the profane.”

While Holy Innocents is on a set date, the Feast of Fools was on various days between Christmas Day and New Year’s Day, rather than always being on December 28.

These two divergent feasts as part of historic Christmas season remind us of the constant struggle we face in keeping Christmas Christian in our individual lives, our families, our churches. The secular, unredeemed, even pagan, elements confront us at every turn: using the holidays to justify excesses in gift buying, eating, drinking, and debauchery. The increasing darkness which comes day by day with the shorter hours of daylight as Christmas approaches can serve as a parable of the Feast of Fools when the unspiritual aspects can so readily gain the upper hand over the affirmation of Christ being new born in us.

Verses for Today

“. . . In him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it. There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. [John] himself was not that light, but he came to testify to the light. The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world” (John 1:4-9).

Each day through New Year’s Day, January 1, 2013, inspirational thoughts will appear, in keeping with Christmas and New Year’s Day.  These are from my book, Reflections for the Festive Seasons.  © 2002.  All rights reserved.